Multi-Dwelling Unit WLAN: An Essential

Resource for Modern Life

An IDC InfoBrief, sponsored by Ruckus | April 2016
Multi-Dwelling Unit WLAN: An Essential Resource for Modern Life An IDC InfoBrief, sponsored by Ruckus

What Is a Multi-Dwelling Unit (MDU)?

On- and off-campus student housing, luxury
and market-rate apartments, condominiums,
assisted living facilities, and military housing
are types of multiple-dwelling units (MDUs)

A property where typically

more than 6 different
families reside

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Multi-Dwelling Unit WLAN: An Essential Resource for Modern Life An IDC InfoBrief, sponsored by Ruckus

What’s Driving Wi-Fi

Demand in MDUs?
Residents’ need for high-speed, reliable
Internet/Wi-Fi is acutely felt in the MDU
market. Wi-Fi is an essential utility, like
heat or hot water:

u ulk Wi-Fi is a dynamic that is

B
changing the way MDUs purchase
and deploy Wi-Fi solutions. MDU
owners are able to make their buildings
more competitive and appealing to residents.

u  he average home has more than 8 devices connecting to the

T
Internet; in an MDU setting that number multiplies exponentially
by the number of residents in a unit.

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Multi-Dwelling Unit WLAN: An Essential Resource for Modern Life An IDC InfoBrief, sponsored by Ruckus

MDU WLAN: Residents Expect

to Connect Everything
Work (home office) Over 85% of US
u Remote access enterprises use web
u 
Web conferencing and collaboration conferencing to reach
remote workers
Play (wireless entertainment)
u Streaming music, movies, TV Over 1.4 billion
u Gaming (video game consoles, networked video
web gaming) devices will be
connected by 2019
Connect Multiple Devices
(Smartphones, laptops, tablets)
Over 40% of
u Video Chat
consumers regularly
u Voice over Wi-Fi
engage with video
u Social Media
chat and VoIP in
u 
Smart Home (IoT: intelligent thermostats,
the home
home security, kitchen appliances, etc.)

Sources: IDC Campus Network Innovation Survey, IDC, October 2015; Pivot Table: Worldwide Home pg 4
Consumer Market Model, 2010–2019; Consumer Multi-Play Survey, IDC, December 2014
Multi-Dwelling Unit WLAN: An Essential Resource for Modern Life An IDC InfoBrief, sponsored by Ruckus

WLAN in the Student

Housing Market
Exponential device growth and bandwidth
usage is driving higher demand
u s students are increasingly demanding ubiquitous
A
coverage in dorms, schools are outsourcing Wi-Fi
implementation to property managers

u roperty managers want to take advantage

P
of low TCO and enjoy a profitable ROI

u tudent housing needs to include

S
automated onboarding to
accommodate the influx of new
devices students are bringing

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Multi-Dwelling Unit WLAN: An Essential Resource for Modern Life An IDC InfoBrief, sponsored by Ruckus

WLAN in the Luxury

Housing Market
What do luxury housing providers
seek in a Wi-Fi solution?
u esidents expect speed and ubiquitous
R
coverage for multiple devices, often
including “smart home” devices
and security
u roperty owners want a platform that
P
is easy to manage

u roperty owners want to take advantage of

P
the trend of Bulk Wi-Fi, which enables them
to monetize their WLAN investment and resell
at a much lower cost to residents

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Multi-Dwelling Unit WLAN: An Essential Resource for Modern Life An IDC InfoBrief, sponsored by Ruckus

WLAN in the Military

Housing Market
What are the considerations
for a Wi-Fi solution for military
housing (barracks)?
u ilitary personnel need high QoS for
M
multimedia applications such as video calling

u ervice providers need a vendor

S
partner with established inroads into
the defense sector

u inal decision makers are tasked to

F
meet strict budget guidelines

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Multi-Dwelling Unit WLAN: An Essential Resource for Modern Life An IDC InfoBrief, sponsored by Ruckus

Networks Are Getting Crowded

Connectivity costs will fall while the value of connecting things will rise.
Consumer devices – from smartphones/tablets to the Internet of Things –
will increase the throughput demands in MDU.

OVER 1.2 BILLION Smartphones 288.3M

Connected TVs 197.1M
CONNECTED INTERNET DEVICES IN Home Internet of Things 185.1M
THE U.S. EXPECTED BY 2018 Tablets 162.7M
PCs 130.4M
Blu-ray Players 100M
Digital Media Adapters 93.4M
Video Game Consoles 86.4M
eReaders 7.5M

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Source: IDC Worldwide Consumer Market Model, 2010–2018
Multi-Dwelling Unit WLAN: An Essential Resource for Modern Life An IDC InfoBrief, sponsored by Ruckus

MSPs Play an Important

Part for MDUs
u niversity, luxury, and military housing
U
providers often rely on MSPs to help
with selection, implementation, and
management of a Wi-Fi solution

u SPs can help ensure proper support

M
for organizations without large IT staffs

u SPs are important business partners

M
— a good service provider seeks to
maximize business value for the end
customer

u SPs enable housing providers to

M
bring modern enterprise-grade Wi-Fi
to residents faster

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Multi-Dwelling Unit WLAN: An Essential Resource for Modern Life An IDC InfoBrief, sponsored by Ruckus

MSPs Are Challenged

MSPs face increasing network Migration of voice/
demands due to: video/TV to IP
u onvergence and the network’s
C IDC expects that by the end of 2019,
enabling role more than 25% of U.S. households will not
u loud computing, desktop
C subscribe to a traditional pay TV service,
virtualization, and software opting for an over-the-top IP application
as a service u 
Emergence of social networking
Mobility explosion u 
Growth of network endpoints
u devices per person
5 u 
Almost 30 billion IoT devices by 2020
worldwide by 2018

u upporting new
S
applications/services

Sources: IDC Worldwide Consumer Technologies:

2016 Top 10 Predictions, January 2016; IDC Worldwide Home pg 10
Internet of Things 2015-2020 Forecast, May 2015
Multi-Dwelling Unit WLAN: An Essential Resource for Modern Life An IDC InfoBrief, sponsored by Ruckus

How MDUs benefit from

Enterprise WLAN:
u 
Pervasive coverage across the campus

u 
High density to accommodate users with multiple devices

u Thorough, easy to administer and secure BYOD

u Flexible deployment and scalability

u Value-added services (location-based services/user analytics)

u Help desk support

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Multi-Dwelling Unit WLAN: An Essential Resource for Modern Life An IDC InfoBrief, sponsored by Ruckus

Key Enterprise WLAN MDU

Benefits In Depth
Pervasive coverage
Once, Wi-Fi was viewed as a “nice to have,” and now it has become mission and
business critical. Today, people expect uninterrupted Wi-Fi coverage for their
favorite applications, no matter where they go.

High density to accommodate users with multiple devices

MDU residents can be simultaneously connected to a smartphone, laptop,
tablet, wireless gaming devices, and so much more. This puts strain on the
network, affecting all residents. A Wi-Fi solution designed for the MDU market
accommodates high density.

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Multi-Dwelling Unit WLAN: An Essential Resource for Modern Life An IDC InfoBrief, sponsored by Ruckus

Methodology
For this report, IDC drew from its library of research on enterprise
networking, US public higher education, and connected consumer
devices to form a comprehensive view of the opportunities and
challenges contained within the multi-dwelling unit market.

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